Sewing machine attachment or accessory



Jan. 29, 1935. w. K 1,989,489

SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT OR ACCESSORY Filed July ll, 1951 r 2 Sheets-Sheet l I V v I s5 \L j 2/ 75 Jan. 29, 1935. F. w. MERRICK SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT OR ACCESSORY 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed July 11, 1951 Patented Jan. 29, 1935 1,989,489;

UNITED STATES,

.SEWING MACHINEATTACHMENT on,"

- ACQESSORY- Frank-W. Merrick, Dorchester, Mass, assignor --to American Stay Company, East Boston, Mass; a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 11', 1931,:Serial, No. 550,085 19 Claims. *(01. 112-452) My invention relates to a sewing machine atthe appended claims only in an illustrative sense. tachment or accessory, particularly adapted for t It will.also; be "understood that the attachmentuse for stitching vampsto quarters of shoe upmay be used to-apply,,piping-welt or the like topers with a piping between the two at the edge a single sheet of material.

of the vamp, and for use in like situations. As illustrated, the attachment or accessory; 5

The invention will be best understood from comprises a plate-like memberll having a por: the following description when read in the light tion 13 adapted. to be substituted for-the usual: of the accompanying drawings of an embodiment bobbi plate or v r f a s win ma hine',-t of the invention selected .forlillustrative purlatter, as herein shown, qcomprising ,a-base'gl5 poses, while the scope of the invention will be carried by a bench .16 which base has a slot-.1731! more particularly pointed out in the appended o ivi g th 0bb 1p Hereinxthe D claims. i tion 13 is secured to thesewing machine base: by;- In the drawings: 5 v a clamping bar 19 which engages the under side Fig.1 is a plan of the attachment or accessory 0f the, base adlaeent the d e o :t e 8101101 in assembled relation with the sewingmachine, the clamping action being, secured by ascrew -21. l5 the figure corresponding to a section on the line the h ad of whi hlisv xp sed h pp i 5 f 1-1 of Fig.2; 1 a the portion 13 of the plate-likemember 1-1.;

Fig. 2 is an velevationaccording to Fig. 1, with S illust a d, the p emember. 11 has parts in section, showing a fragment of the-head an offset portion 23 provided with-theyupstand-g of the sewing machine; ing cars 25, which latteruhave screw threaded 20 Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1; perforations for receiving .pivotfpins .27" for Fig. 4 is a plan, .on an enlarged scale, of the hin edly' supporting a fiat leafelike or plate-like parts of the attachment or accessory adjacent mber which Se v s as uid ufort -p p s the needle, showing the work in position; and the, vamp edge. As shown, the lastmen- Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are respectively sections on. the d. m m er has a'balse portion-:29 cooperat- 25 lines 5-5, 6-6 and 77 of Fig. 4; ing withv thepivot, pins 27.xv 0n its upperiface Fig. 8 is a. section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1, the base portion 29 is formedwith alongituwith parts in elevation, and the guide means for fi y ding slot .31 which is slidably I the piping and vamp edge omitted; ceived the portion 33 of the guidemember which Fig. 9 is an end elevation on an enlarged scale p rti n is f rm d with a sv s a m 35. x- 30- of the portion of the guide for the piping and d ng to adja n he d e 3 4 vamp adjacent the needle as viewed from the AS h wn, f ppo ng the-free end of the left in Fig. 1; arm 11, the latter screw-threadedly carries a Fig. 10 is a plan on an enlarged scale of th post 38 adapted to restat its lower end on the 5" parts adjacent the needle with the reciprocating D of the bench Herein, the arm 0f the 35: presser-foot itt d; v guide member is formed-on its upper surfacewith Fig. 11 is a view corresponding to Fig. 10' with a groove t a having 011 i pp Side a th b r carrying th vamp guide tt plate 41 which covers the groove so, as to provide and a covered passage for guiding the piping to the 40 Fig. 12 is adiagram of th parts adjacent th needle. As shown, the plate 41 is notched asin- 40;; needle, showing the areas contacted by the two (heated at the exposed portion of the-groove presser-feet. 39 adjacent the notch, as viewed in Fig. 1, serv- In attaching the vamps to quarters of shoes it ing as an p nin f "entrance o the p p t is desirable for purposes of ornamentation and the pas fio d y the groove; Hereimth'e for strengthening the seam to insert a piping, plate 41 is provided on its end with a pin 45 Welt, or the like, this construction being indicated. shown as positioned directly opposite the needle,-

in Fig. 4 in which the vamp isindicated at; 1, the this pin serving to gauge the distance the pip quarter at 3, and the piping at 5. The piping ing projects beyond the edge of the vamp/whichshown consists of a narrow folded ribbon of latter contacts the pin and is guided thereby durleather, and is inserted between the vamp and ing thesewing operation. r

quarter with its edge 7 projecting slightly be For adjusting the pin 45 relative .to the'groove yond the edge 9 of the vamp. It will be under- 39 for guiding'the piping-the plate 41 whichcarstood, however, that the invention is not limited ries the pin is pivotally connected to the arm; 35-

to this particular use, and that the terms vamp, by a pin 47. For turning the plate 41 about its quarter and. piping. are used herein and in. pivot, the plate'3-3 rotatablycar'ries an eccentric pin 49, opposite sides of which latter are contacted by the side walls of a notch 51 formed in the end of the plate 41. As best illustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and 6, the eccentric 49 is provided with an extension 53 rotatably received in a perforation 55 in the arm 35, the end of the pin 53 being provided with a head 57 for preventing its removal from the ,perforation. Conveniently the eccentric is provided with a slot 59 for receiving the end of a screw-driver for adjusting the eccentric, the latter being held in adjusted position by the frictional fit of the parts.

Referring to Figs. 9, 10 and 11, the end of the arm 35 adjacent the needle is beveled, as i ndicated at 61, on its under side to approximately a knife edge, the beveled portion cutting entirely through the bottom wall of the groove 39 adjacent the end of the arm to provide aipair of projections 63 leading to adjacent the needle 37 and serving to guide the piping thereto. The upper'side of the plate 41 adjacent the needle is beveled, as indicated at 65, atorie side of its top surface to 'a knife edge indicated at 67. This construction provides a minimum thickness of metal between the layers of the work being sewed, and facilitates proper holding of the work when I operated upon by the presser-feet hereinafter described. 1

Although the invention is applicable to various types of sewing machines, that herein indicated comprises a needle bar 69 and a'pair of presserfoot bars 71, 73, below whichis'a work feed 75. The mechanism of the sewingmachine', which it is believed unnecessary to describe, and which, for example, may be the well known'Singer 108 W. 1, operates to cause the needle bar and presser-footbar' 71 tobe reciprocated and walked with the feed 75 so as to advance the work the distance of a stitch for each reciprocation of the needle, the presser-foot bar 73' being of the plain reciprocating type, acting to hold the work'except when the needle bar and presser-foot bar.

71"are.walked. I v

As shown,the walking presser-foot 'lfi on the endof the bar 71 has a lower work engaging portion 77 provided at its front with a groove 79 the walls of which are closely adjacent to the needle. The presser-foot 81 on the presser-foot bar 73, as illustrated, has a portion 83 in front of the needle and a side portion 85 which contacts with the side of the lower portion 77 of the presserfoot 76 so as better to maintain the two presserfeet in operative relation with each other and the needle. The portion 83 of the reciprocating presser-foot 8l-is beveled at its front and sides to clear the ends of the projections 63 on the ends of the arm 35 and to contact with the work in the space between these projections, the contact area being approximately indicated by the dotted line surface area87 in Fig. 12, which latter shows a diagrammatic arrangement of the parts. The remaining bottom area of the presser-foot 81 is so formed as to clear the work or at least to contact with it with a minimum of pressure. The contact area of the walking presserfoot 76 carried by the presser bar '71 is indicated in Fig.12 approximately by the dotted line surface area 91. V V r I As a result of the above described construction, it will be observed that the work is held at both sides of the needle when the latter penetrates the work, and is heldby the portion'l? of the walking presser-foot 76 during the feeding op eration. It will be further observed that herein the piping is guided approximately all the way.

to the needle, and that the pin 45 for gauging the vamp edge, being located directly opposite the needle, permits the operator readily to swing the work where the edge of the vamp is an irregular line as commonly found in shoes.

In practice, the two presser-feet and needle may be raised by the usual lever operated mechanism commonly provided for, this purpose in sewing machines, which permits the end of arm 35 adjacent the needle to be lifted slightly to enable the quarter to be inserted under the arm and the vamp to be placed on top of the arm, after which the presser-feet may be released to conby use of the screw-threaded pins 27, which are effective to adjust the parts transversely of the sewing machine bed as viewed in Fig. 1, and also -by sliding the plate 33 in the groove 31 for adjusting the parts longitudinally of said bed, while the distance the piping projects beyond the vamp edge may be adjusted by use of the eccentric 49. For the above purpose the part 33 may be ad'- justably secured to the part 29 in any convenient manner, as for example byproviding the part 33 with slots 93 through which extend. headed clamping screws 95 threadedv into the part 29.

.It will be observed that. the present invention provides for application of the attachment or accessory without change in the sewing machine, for thereason that the base 13 is substituted for the usual bobbin plate, and the two presser-feet of course attached to the presser bars in the ordinary manner so as to be interchangeable with other presser-feet used'with the sewing machine. This enables the attachment to be sold as an article of commerce to shoe and leather manufacturers without it being necessary for the latter to form attaching holes in the sewing machine parts or to send the sewing machine to a machine shop or the like for this purpose.

It will be understood that wide deviations may be made from the embodiment of the invention herein described without, departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

,1. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, guide means for directing piping or-the like to the needle, a gauge means for the edge of the sheet to which said piping is stitched, said gauge means being positioned adjacent the needle and being formed to permit swinging of said sheet in opposite directions in a plane transverse to the needle during the sewing operation while said edge of said sheet is incontact therewith, and means for adjusting said gauge means relative to said guide means whereby the distance said piping projects beyond said edge of said sheet maybe varied.

2. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, guide means fordii'ecting piping or the like to the needle, a gauge means for the edge of the sheet to which said piping is stitched, and means for adjusting said gauge means relative to said guide means, whereby the distance said piping projects beyond said edge of said sheet may be varied, and for simultaneously adjusting both said gauge means and guide means relative to the needle.

3. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, guide means for directing piping or the like to the needle, a gauge means for the edge of the sheet to which said piping is stitched, said gauge means being positioned adjacent the needle and being formedto permit swinging of said sheet in opposite directions in a plane transverse to the needle duringthe sewing operation while said edge Ioi said sheet is-in contact therewith, and means for adjusting said guide means and gaugemeans independently of each, other relative to the needle whereby the distance said piping projects beyond said edge of said sheet and the relation of the line of stitching to said piping may be varied. a

4. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, guide means for directing piping or the like to the needle, a gauge means for the edge of the sheet to which said piping is stitched, said gauge means being positioned adjacent the needle and being formed to permit swinging of said sheet in opposite directions in a plane transverse to the needle during the sewing operation while said edge of said sheet is in contact therewith, and means for adjusting said guide means r lative to the needle in all directionsin a plane transverse to the needle and for independently adjusting said gauge means relative to said guide means in said plane.

5. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, guide means adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like for diresting piping or the like to a needle is stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, and a relatively adjustable gauge means for the vamp edge carried by said guide means, said gauge means being positioned adjacent the needle and being formed to permit swinging of said vamp and quarter in opposite directions in a plane transverse to the needle during the sewin: operation while said vamp edge is in contact therewith.

6. A sewing machine accessory having, in com bination, guide means adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like for directing piping or the like to a needle for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, andgauge means for the vamp edge carried by said guide means positioned approximately directly opposite said needle, said gauge means being so formed as to permit swinging of said vamp and quarter in opposite directions in a plane transverse to the needle during the sewing operation while said vamp edge is in contact therewith.

7. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, guide means adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like for directing piping or the like to a needle for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, gauge means for the vamp edge, said gauge means being posttioned adjacent the needle and being formed to permit swinging of said vamp and quarter in opposite directions in a plane transverse to the needle during the sewing operation while said vamp edge is in contact therewith, and presserfoot means for engaging the work in front and in back of the needle at points closely adjacent thereto.

8. A sewing machine accessory having, in com bination, guide means adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like for directing piping or the like to a needle for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, gauge means for the vamp edge positioned approximately directly opposite the needle, and presser-foot means for engaging the work in front and in back of the needle at points closely adjacent thereto.

9. A sewing machine accessory having, in com bination, guide means adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like for directing piping or the like to a needle for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, relatively adjustable gaug.e-"means tor the vamp edge positioned approximately directly opposite the needle, and presser footmeans for engaging the work in front and in back of the needle at points closely adjacent thereto." d

10. A "sewing machine accessory having, in combinatiomguide means terminating adjacent the needle adapted to be positioned between a vamp and-quarteror the like for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter forstitching said vamp, quarter and piping, a vamp edge guide,

a so-called walking pre-sser foot for engaging the work behind the needle at points adjacent the latter, and a presser-ioot' for engaging. the work adjacent the-end ofsaid guide means.

1 11. A sewingmachine' accessory having, in combination, guide means terminating adjacent the needle adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, a vamp edge guide approximately directly opposite the needle, a so-called walking-presser-foot for engaging the work behind the needle at points adjacent the latter, and a presser-ioot for engaging the work in front of the needle adjacent the end of said guide means.

12. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, guide means terminating adjacent the needle adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, a vamp edge guide, a so-called walking-presser-foot for engaging the .work adjacent the needle, and Presser-foot means for engaging the work behind said walkingpresserfoot and in front of the latter adjacent the end of said guide means.

13. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, guide means terminating adjacent the needle adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, a vamp edge guide approximately directly opposite the needle, a so-called walking-presser-foot for engaging the work adjacent the needle, and presserfoot means for engaging the work behind said walking-presser-foot and in front of the latter adjacent the end of said guide means.

14. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, guide means terminating close to the needle adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, an adjustable vamp edge guide, a so-called walking-presser-ioot for engaging the work adjacent the needle, and a presser-foot having portions for engaging the work atopposite sides of the needle and at opposite sides of said walking-presser-foot.

15. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, a flat leaf -like device adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like having guide means for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, said device having a like having guide means for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, said device having an adjustable vamp edge guide.

-17. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, a fiat leaf-like device adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like having guide means for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, said device having a vamp edge guide and a hinged support for said device.

18. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, a flat leaf-like device adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter or the like having guide means for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, said device having a vamp edge guide and an elongated plate-like member adapted to be substituted for the bobbin cover of the sewing machine, said device having a hinged connection to said plate-like member.

19. A sewing machine accessory having, in combination, an extensible fiat leaf-like device adapted to be positioned between a vamp and quarter 01' the like having guide means for directing piping or the like to the needle, the latter for stitching said vamp, quarter and piping, said device having a vamp edge guide adjacent the needle mounted for adjustment transversely of the direction in which the work is fed, a supporting member hingedly connected to the end of said device, and meansfor adjusting said device transversely of said supporting member.

FRANK W. MERRICK. 

